The bread with the hole in it

Yup, more bread! I've just been on a kick lately. I decided to make bagels after re-discovering my love for them covered in peanut butter while I was in the Bagel Factory the other day. It is the food of the gods! Granted they don't really toast their bagels very well, but it still tasted good. I'm way too picky about my food, I hate to have it just the way I like it, and when people don't toast bagels properly it really irritates me. Plus it's impossible to buy wholegrain bagels in anywhere, and they're the type I like, so I figured I might as well try to make my own.
It was really weird; the day after I made them I discovered that the Daring Baker's challenge for this month was to make bagels! Of course theirs were made without the help of a bread machine and they all turned out looking and tasting, I'm sure, spectacular. It's really worth checking out their entries and seeing their photos if you have the time :)

They weren't exactly perfect circles, but circles nonetheless

This time I had to go online to get a recipe, the only one I had looked really complicated and confusing. I could see it ending badly. All Recipes provided me with a recipe for bread machine bagels that seemed to have worked out for lots of people, so I figured I'd give it a go. I did require some alterations though, based on other people's comments I added an extra 100ml/ 1/2 cup of water, left the to rise for at least 30 minutes rather than 10, and I substituted half the white flour with wholegrain. I had some trouble converting the American measurements to metric because tablespoons and teaspoons differ slightly - I was ending up with too much sugar, but a bit of guesswork and Google sorted it our in the end.

Close up!

Recipe: Whole Wheat Bagels

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups/ 300 ml warm water/ (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons/ 9g salt
• 2 tablespoons/ 15-20g white sugar
  
• 1 1/2 cups/ 205g strong with bread flour
• 1 1/2 cups/ 205g strong wholemeal bread flour
  
• 2 1/4 teaspoons/ 9g active dry yeast
• 3 quarts/ 3000ml/ a big pot of boiling water
  
• 3 tablespoons/40g white sugar/
  
• 1 tablespoon/9g cornmeal
• 1 egg white

Method:

1. Place water, salt, sugar, flour and yeast in the bread machine pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select Dough setting.
2. When cycle is complete, let dough rest on a lightly floured surface. Meanwhile, in a large pot bring 3 quarts of water to a boil. Stir in 3 tablespoons of sugar.
3. Cut dough into 9 equal pieces, and roll each piece into a small ball. Flatten balls. Poke a hole in the middle of each with your thumb. Twirl the dough on your finger or thumb to enlarge the hole, and to even out the dough around the hole. Cover bagels with a clean cloth, and leave to rise for at least 30 minutes.
   
4. Sprinkle an ungreased baking sheet with cornmeal. Carefully transfer bagels to boiling water. Boil for 1-3 minute , turning half way through. Drain briefly on clean towel. Arrange boiled bagels on baking sheet. Glaze tops with egg white, and sprinkle with your choice of toppings.
5. Bake in a preheated 375 degree F (190 degrees C) oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until well browned. Turn bagels over halfway through cooking.
   

Now where's my peanut butter?

Overall I was happy with the way these bagels turned out. I was a little anxious because of the confusion in converting the measurements - my weighing scale isn't very accurate so weighing out 9 g's of ingredients was impossible, but it was okay in the end. I forgot to add the sugar to the pot of boiling water, I don't know if this effected the bagels or not, I didn't notice anything wrong with them, but I would say it probably did. After seeing bagels that have been topped with seeds etc. I think I'll give mine a topping next time, it makes them look finished. Ideally bagels are meant to first sink in the water and then float when they're cooked, none of my bagels sank, I gather from reading entries by the Daring Bakers that a lot of theirs floated too. I'm not sure what makes them sink, but I know I want mine to! Oh well, maybe next time...